Israel resumes strikes on Dahieh after 6-day pause
Israeli warplanes targeted Wednesday Haret Hreik in Beirut's southern suburbs, for the first time in nearly a week.
The strikes on southern Beirut were the first in six days, and came after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the United States had given him assurances that Israel would curb its strikes on the capital.
The Israeli army said it struck a "strategic weapons depot" belonging to Hezbollah, under a residential building, without providing evidence.
"You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, which the IDF (Israeli military) will work against in the near future", Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote in Arabic on X.
An Associated Press photographer saw three airstrikes in the area, the first coming less than an hour after the notice.
Hezbollah has a strong presence in southern Beirut, which is also a residential and commercial area home to large numbers of civilians and people unaffiliated with the militant group.
Israel also carried out Wednesday 11 air strikes on Nabatiyeh and surrounding areas in south Lebanon, days after strikes destroyed the southern city's marketplace.
"For now, 11 strikes have mainly hit Nabatiyeh but also its surroundings," Nabatiyeh governor Howaida Turk told AFP when asked about Israeli strikes, adding that the intense raids "formed a kind of belt of fire" in the area. She reported casualties but could not provide a precise toll.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Tuesday the idea of a ceasefire in Lebanon that would leave Hezbollah close to his country's northern border.
In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu said he was "opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was", according to a statement from his office.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide this (a buffer zone) and which does not stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping," the statement said.
- Sonic booms rattle Beirut -
Israeli jets caused two sonic booms over Beirut and the surrounding area Wednesday.
"Enemy aircraft violently broke the sound barrier twice in the airspace of (Beirut's) southern suburbs" and surroundings areas, the National News Agency said.
- 50 projectiles fired from Lebanon -
Around 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon at Israel's north early Wednesday, without any reports of casualties.
"Some of the projectiles were intercepted and fallen projectiles were identified in the area," an Israeli military statement said, while Hezbollah said it launched "a large salvo of missiles" at the town of Safed.
- Hezbollah downs two drones -
Hezbollah said it downed a second Israeli drone on Tuesday, adding that it was seen "burning" over Israeli territory.
Fighters from the group's "air defense units shot down a second Israeli Hermes 450 drone," on Tuesday, Hezbollah said, adding that "it was seen burning in the skies of occupied Palestine."
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/308663 |